Communities hosting oil exploration companies in Imo and Abia have pledged to deliver people-friendly projects in line with the dictates of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
National President of the Host Communities Development Board of Trustees and Settlors (HCDTS), His Highness, Dr Benjamin-Style Tamaranebi, pledged a town hall engagement for oil host communities organised by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) in Owerri, on Wednesday.
Tamaranebi said that with a constitutional contribution of 3 percent from settlers (oil companies), host communities could embark on projects independently, despite pending challenges.
He called on representatives of host communities to deliver the dividends of development to their people in line with the PIA.
“A lot is happening, host communities have started executing projects and the people are the beneficiaries of the PIA”, he said.
Speaking, Group Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Engr Gbenga Komolafe, described the 3 per cent contribution from settlors as “a legal requirement, not a favour”, adding that investments in education, healthcare and critical infrastructure are required of host communities.
Komolafe, represented by Mr Daniel Atama advised the communities to safeguard oil facilities and installations while urging them to approach the NUPRC with legitimate complaints, if any.
Also speaking, National Secretary of the HCDTS, His Royal Majesty, Eze Emmanuel Assor, said that host communities have patiently cooperated with settlors despite delay in payment of the 3 per cent contribution since 2023.
He urged the settlors to expedite payment as a way of reciprocating the patience and tolerance of the communities.
Also, Chairman of host communities in Abia, Chief Maxwell Wabara, urged settlors and the NUPRC to “go back to the drawing board and ensure that host communities are well taken care of rather than marginalized”.
Mr Stanley Okwuosa, of the Imo Local Government Service Commission, called for increased transparency in the implementation of the PIA.
Okwuosa, an environmentalist, urged the NUPRC and the settlors to publish their annual budgets for host communities from 2022 to 2025 in the interest of transparency.
Our Correspondent, however, reports that settlors were conspicuously absent from the meeting.